Manhattan

Manhattan is the most densely populated of New York City's five boroughs and the city's historical center and birthplace. The island was settled in 1626, having been purchased by the United Provinces from the Native Americans for $1,051. The Dutch controlled the island until 1664, when England conquered the island during a war with the Dutch; the English decided to trade their island of Run in present-day Indonesia for Manhattan, which was annexed after the peace treaty. Manhattan would grow into a large city under British rule, and it served as the de facto capital of the United States from 1783 to 1790, when the capital was moved to Washington DC. Manhattan remained the location of the major banks of the United States, and Manhattan would become known as the cultural and financial capital of the world as immigrants from across the world arrived in the second half of the 19th century and for the entirety of the 2th century. The Irish came to the city in the 1840s, and immigrants from Eastern Europe and Central Europe arrived from the 1880s to the 1950s. Manhattan is home to famous sights such as Central Park and Times Square, both of which are international tourist destinations, and it is home to pieces of all cultures, including restaurants and clothing stores. In 2015, Manhattan had a population of 1,644,518 people, with 47.6% being white, 25.8% Hispanic, 18.4% African-American, and 12% Asian.